TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a feed device. One such feed device has become known as the subject of DE 36 39 65, for instance. In this known feed device, the feed movement is attained by means a disk driven to rotate by an electric motor and cooperating with a connecting link guide that converts the rotary motion into a longitudinal motion of a carriage. A toggle lever mechanism is disposed in the region of this carriage and cooperates with a pair of tongs, so that on the displacement of the complete carriage, the tongs come into engagement with the wire to be transported and selectively grasp and release it.
The disadvantage of the known feed device is that it is a complicated and expensive drive mechanism that requires a great amount of space and moreover works only in such a manner as to be vulnerable to wear.
In another known device according to the U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,622, the solder wire is transported by the form-fitting engagement of the solder wire by a toothed disk that is driven to rotate by intermittent thrusts. In this way. as a result of the rotary drive of the toothed disk, an intermittent feeding of the solder wire is attained.
The disadvantage of that known feed device, however, is that the arrangement once again takes up a relatively large amount of space, because the transport station cannot be integrated into a soldering iron, and that it works with electromagnetically moved parts, which makes it vulnerable to wear and needs frequent maintenance.